Better Decisions | Better Outcomes
CASE STUDY
$5 billion+ Retailer with 1,400+ Stores
Seeks Captive Brands for Consumer Staples
Business Challenge
It’s very name, described its business. Big Lots! Built a more than $5 billion business based on the idea of purchasing closeout products at deep discount wholesale prices, and then passing those savings on to its shoppers.
An item featured one week, may not be available the next. Limited time only – while supplies last!
The treasure hunt is what excites and low prices are what delights the Big Lots! shopper.
However, competition has increased as club stores like Costco and online merchants have also learned to tap into that treasure hunt mindset.
But what if Big Lots were to offer unique, low-cost, high-value consumer staples that were available every day? This would help them evolve beyond its closeout store roots to more everyday discount retailing. Doing so could mean more shoppers using them as a “stock-up” destination, in so capturing more shopping trips and more opportunities to up-sell shoppers on some of the other in-store finds.
The Solution
Enter dog food…
Dog Food & Snacks are fitting examples of consumer staples, with shoppers stocking up a couple of times each month. However, creating a new brand from scratch is both difficult and risky, and Big Lots! wanted something more authentic than a conventional private label.
Lockstep Partner’s current Managing Partner brought them RIVAL… a former Nabisco brand of dog food, with a heritage stretching back to the late 1930’s. While off the market for decades, the brand came with an authentic back-story and residual awareness that Big Lots! leveraged in-store with the introduction of RIVAL dry dog food – a Big Lots exclusive.
The Outcome
RIVAL was a success right out of the gates, exceeding expectations with $10 million is sales year one, earning a mention in their annual report.
RIVAL continued to grow exponentially with expansion into wet dog food, dog treats and both dry and wet cat food varieties.
RIVAL is proof positive than an old dog can learn new tricks!
Ask how Lockstep Partners and IP IQ can help your business. Learn More.
Leading Hotel Supplier Stands Apart and
Boosts Margins With Control Brands
Business Opportunity
American Hotel Register (AHR), the nation’s largest supplier of products to the hotel and hospitality industry, sought to differentiate themselves from competitors (and boost margins along the way), through the use of exclusive control brands.
Hotel amenities (the little travel sized shampoos, soaps and moisturizers) was an important category to AHR and their customers. Not only was it a large category for AHR, it was also a critical touch point for hotel guests where the quality of the amenities made a significant impression as to the quality of the overall stay.
Solution
Lockstep Partner’s Managing Partner, brought the Silkience brand to American Hotel Register. A former GIllete-owned hair care brand, consumers were first introduced to “The Science of Silkience” with a self-adjusting shampoo that moisturized just where your hair needed it.
Over time, Silkience became a leading well-known brand, evolving from its initial functional positioning to one more focused on beauty and glamour.
For AHR, Silkience came with built-in brand awareness, and attractive attributes -- a heritage beauty brand, with a reputation for results based on science -- making it a terrific fit for hotel guests seeking an upscale experience.
OUTCOME
A Star is Re-Born!
AHR matched the Silkience brand with a contemporary line including shampoo, lotion, body soap, facial bar, conditioner and shaving cream.
Take notice at your next hotels stay. If you’re lucky, you may leave with considerably silkier hair.
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